Beyond the Spotlight: Why Lee Je-hoon and So Ji-seop’s Secret Talents Matter
Jeong Hyeon-mok, Culture Department Director
Lee Je-hoon is a truly upright actor. The same goes for his serious interview attitude, where he doesn’t answer anything half-heartedly, and his attitude towards acting is also the same.
Maybe that’s why, when I heard that he was stepping forward as a public relations man to promote independent art cinemas across the country, I did just that. He breaks his tight schedule and introduces small but valuable theaters through YouTube’s ‘Jehoon Cine’. This is a topic for the survival and sustainability of movie theaters. To him, the theater is “a precious place where I learned about life.” This is why we took action to preserve a happy theater culture where people can talk about movies with other audiences.
Actors who protect film diversity
Idols contributed greatly to the reading boom
Celebrities’ ‘good influence’ needs to grow
While Lee Je-hoon is committed to protecting the theater platform, actor So Ji-sub is serious about introducing good content (movies) that will fill the screen. He has been importing, distributing and investing in overseas art films with the film company Chanran for over 10 years. If you think it’s a movie that leaves you with a moving and lingering feeling, So Ji-sub’s name will always be in the credits. There are many movie fans who appreciate his discernment in selecting masterpieces such as ‘Bigger Splash’, ‘Plan 75’, ‘Hereditary’, ‘The Square’, ‘Madame Proust’s Secret Garden’, ‘Midsommar’, and ‘Talk Show with the Devil’.
The art film investment and import business is basically a loss-making business. Nevertheless, the reason he continues is because “even though it is difficult and the loss is great, I want to give back what I received as an actor.” Personally, the best movie So Ji-sub imported this year was ‘Zone of Interest.’ The noises, screams, and smells that permeated the peaceful daily lives of the family of the German camp leader living outside the walls of the Auschwitz Jewish concentration camp were much more brutal and heartbreaking than the horrific scenes of massacre.
While the two actors are making efforts to protect the diversity and values of the film industry, there are also those who are raising their voices on social issues. Actor Yoo Ji-tae, who has been supporting independent films for over 10 years, serves as a public relations ambassador for North Korean human rights at the Ministry of Unification and is active in the North Korean human rights movement at home and abroad. Actor Cha In-pyo is also active in the North Korean human rights movement, and three years ago he published the novel “If We All Gaze at the Same Star,” which tells the story of comfort women. The novel was recently selected as a must-read book for Korean studies at Oxford University in England. Actress Park Jin-hee, who consistently participates in environmental activism, is calling for attention to the climate crisis through one-person protests.
The sight of idols reading books, whether intentional or not, greatly contributes to the reading boom. The ‘text hip’ (meaning that reading books is cool), which was sparked by Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature, was sprouted even before that by famous idols. A good example is the rapid increase in sales of 『Reading Schopenhauer at 40』 after Ive member Jang Won-young said on a YouTube broadcast last May, “People read at 40, but I wanted to read at 20.”
Le Seraphim Heo Yun-jin often brings books with her on her way out of the country, attracting attention not as ‘airport fashion’ but as ‘airport books’. The art and humanities book 『A Young Death』 and the foreign essay 『Book of Anxiety』 were republished after being mentioned by BTS RM and actress Han So-hee, respectively. In particular, RM not only shares the books he reads with fans during his overseas tours, but also acts as a ‘cultural messenger’ by expressing his love for cultural assets such as art exhibitions and statues of Bangasayu.
Bono, vocalist of the world-renowned rock band U2, is at the forefront of aiding poor countries and is often mentioned as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. I constantly think about how music can help solve human problems such as poverty, disease, and war. In his recently published autobiography, 『SURRENDER』, he defined his fame as ‘currency’ to create a better world. “I have always had a desire to put my reputation to better use than being first in line to be seated at a restaurant. “I want to properly use the ‘currency’ I have where it is most needed.”
In order to use that ‘currency’ in a meaningful way, Bono has been creating songs against violence, poverty, and racism for decades, and taking action to improve them. The status of a celebrity is never a ‘public position’ obtained through one’s own merits. Since it is like a gift obtained through the public’s love, it should be thought of as a ‘debt’ that must be repaid. That is ‘good influence’. It’s okay if the way you repay the public’s love doesn’t have to be grand. Singer Lim Young-woong, who shouts ‘Geonhaeng’ (stay healthy and happy) to his fans, always encourages elderly concertgoers to “get a health checkup,” and the effect of these words is significant. Thanks to this, there are cases of fans who discovered cancer early, and many children do not have to ask their parents for health checkups. There are many ways to have a positive influence if you have the will.